Let’s take a look at labor relations in public service. Public employee unions are under fire as governments at all levels seek to cope with limited resources and budget reductions.
Unions are adept at hardball politics: They act as protectors (defending employees’ rights and interests), partners (with prolabor stakeholders), and punishers (against those perceived to be antilabor).
These three roles help explain union behavior both internally (within the workplace) and externally (outside the workplace).
